Lockdown - one year on

On March 23rd 2020 Boris Johnson in effect announced the first national lockdown. We are now approaching the first anniversary of that and are still living under social distancing and several restrictions, but this time, possibly, with an end in sight. We believe it is important to document these extraordinary times, and are inviting all staff and students at the University of Oxford to contribute to this online archive by reflecting on the past year sharing their pictures, videos, stories, and reflections.

Please use the 'share' link to add one or more of the following:

  • Your reactions to the events of the past year
  • A description of a typical day/or plan for your day in lockdown
  • What was the 'new normal' life like for you (anything that represented the new way of learning, teaching, social life in 2020-21)
  • A message to the future - a short time capsule message for future staff, students, and historians of the University describing the impact of the events over the past year (audio, video, or text)

[N.B. Please do not upload any material you do not hold the rights for, or any images or recordings of individuals without their consent.]

Click here to share your material

Click here to browse our current submissions

Click here to read the final report from Lockdown Phase 1 (by M. Garnett)

All contributions will go into a digital archive of memories for current and future generations to explore and study. The collection will be available online, so please only share what you are happy for everyone to see and have rights/consent for. Material will be shared under the Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC. 

If you find you are having difficulties coping with the lockdown please see  the University's Guidance and Latest News, the NHS's 10 Tips on Wellbeing, and Public Health England's Guide to Wellbeing and Health. 

This crowd-sourcing project is run by the English Faculty and IT Services in collaboration with the Museum of Oxford. Phase 1 was funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund and ESRC Impact Acceleration Account through the University of Oxford’s COVID-19: Economic, Social, Cultural, & Environmental Impacts - Urgent Response Fund.

Latest Contributions

  • Hugs and Rainbows

    From 17 May we were allowed to hug people again (provided we were careful, which we were taught), and go inside houses (in groups of six) and cafes and pubs all students were allowed to go back to Uni. It was too late for my Covid Cohort, as after 15 months of online learning our lectures had finished, and our last assignments handed in. We celebrated with my first home test, before heading around the M25 for a much-needed hug with my mother and father-in-law. It's been far too long for us all.

  • Camping in the Garden

    Oxford - 6am on the 1st of May 2020. I am awake and listening to singing. Not choir boys up a tower though, but birds – really loud birds. Ah, the joys of camping in the garden.

  • Online Quiz - Teddy Film Scene Round

  • NHS Sheep

    During the first lockdown in 2020 we had uncharacteristically glorious weather, and went for a lot of long walks. We explored local footpaths and got to know our locality far better than previously.
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